Bush on Thursday did not rule out dealing with Hamas, which won the Palestinian parliamentary elections, but said the militant Islamic group would have to renounce its call for Israel's destruction. “Peace is never dead,” Bush said at a news conference when asked if he ruled out ever dealing with Hamas. But he added that “if your platform is the destruction of Israel, it means you’re not a partner in peace, and we’re interested in peace.” Asked in a follow-up question if he was ruling out dealing with a Palestinian government that was made up partly of Hamas, he replied: “They don’t have a government yet, so you’re asking me to speculate on what the government will look like. I have made it very clear however that a political party that articulates the destruction of Israel as part of a platform is a party with which we will not deal.” Bush called the election results a “wake-up call” to the old guard Palestinian leadership, many of whom are holdovers from the days of Yasser Arafat... http://www.msnbc.msn.com

Forget learning lines or polishing jokes - having sex may be the best way to prepare for giving a speech. New Scientist magazine reports that Stuart Brody, a psychologist at the University of Paisley, found having sex can help keep stress at bay. However, only penetrative intercourse did the trick - other forms of sex had no impact on stress levels at all. Professor Brody monitored how various forms of sex affected blood pressure levels in a stressful situation. For a fortnight, 24 women and 22 men kept diaries of how often they engaged in various forms of sex. Then they underwent a stress test involving public speaking and performing mental arithmetic out loud. Volunteers who had had penetrative intercourse were found to be the least stressed, and their blood pressure returned to normal faster than those who had engaged in other forms of sexual activity such as masturbation. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4646010.stm

General Motors has posted a quarterly net loss in the face of high costs, reduced market share and flat sales of sport utility vehicles (SUVs). GM, the largest carmaker in the world, said its fourth-quarter net loss was $4.8bn (£2.7bn), from $99m last year. Revenue fell to $51.2bn, from $51.4bn during the same period in 2004. "2005 was one of the most difficult years in GM's history, driven by poor performance in North America," GM chief executive Rick Wagoner said. Rising materials and labour costs, as well as a loss of market share to Japanese rivals and a drop-off in demand for SUVs, all contributed to the malaise. However, in a stroke of good news, billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian has increased his stake in GM. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4650872.stm

Fighting is continuing in Sudan's war-torn Darfur province, where rebels are trying to take a government-held town, the UN says. The clashes have prompted aid agencies to pull out of the area around Golo. The US has condemned the rebel attacks. One of the Sudanese aid workers being evacuated was killed on Wednesday when a UN helicopter crashed. More than two million people have been forced from their homes and at least 180,000 have died in the conflict. "Fighting is still continuing with heavy weapons" in the West Darfur town of Golo, said UN spokeswoman Radhia Achouri. She urged all sides to cease hostilities. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4650014.stm

Mexico will suspend its plan to distribute maps to migrants wanting to cross the U.S. border illegally, but an official said Thursday the decision was not made because of American pressure. Miguel Angel Paredes, spokesman for the federal Human Rights Commission, said the decision was made because human rights officials in border states expressed concern that the maps would show anti-immigrant groups where migrants likely would gather. ...http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1544369

The 700 tons of U.S. beef distributed in Japan after the country eased its import ban last month is safe and can be eaten with no worries, Japan's agriculture minister said Thursday.Shoichi Nakagawa told parliament the meat was closely checked for banned material such as bone and brains when it entered the country. Japan halted imports again last week after it found banned spinal bones in a shipment of American veal.Nakagawa said about 1,500 tons of U.S. beef has entered Japan since the easing of a two-year-old ban on Dec. 12. The ban was imposed in 2003 after the discovery of mad cow disease in an American herd.Of those 1,500 tons, more than 700 tons have already been distributed to supermarkets, restaurants and other outlets, but Nakagawa said that meat posed no health risk....http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-01-26-japan-us-beef_x.htm?csp=34